Different day, pretty
similar result for LSU. Of course when Aaron Nola pitches, the Tigers have
gotten pretty accustomed to this kind of thing.

Nola was rock-solid for
9 innings to log his first complete-game victory of the season, and Jake Fraley
twice helped kick-start the offense on a relatively quiet day for bats all
around as LSU nabbed a 2-0 triumph against Alabama at Alex Box Stadium.

The series opener was
washed out Friday by rain, forcing Nola into a mid-day start, something he has
done rarely the last two seasons.

Game 2 of the day and
the series is set to get started at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Tigers' junior ace wasn't
fazed much, logging 5 perfect frames and working out of trouble in his last few
innings that ranged from minor to hold-your-breath.

It might've been LSU
coach Paul Mainieri who presented the biggest obstacle.

When Nola ended the 8th
inning with 104 pitches, Mainieri contemplated lifting him and letting closer
Joe Broussard finish up, especially since the top of the Alabama batting order
was coming up.

Much like the Tide
hitters, Nola won that battle as well.

"It was a good conversation,"
Nola said with a smile. "He asked me if I was exhausted and if I could finish.
I told him to put me back out there, so I could finish it."

Actually there was a
little more to it. Mainieri stuck a toe in the water to see how rankled Nola
might get. And the Baton Rouge native did something that's always a key to the
Hall of Fame coach.

"He looked me in the
eye and said 'There's no way,' when I asked him if I should take him out,"
Mainieri said. "He told me 'I can finish. I'm going to be really mad at you if
you take me out.' Then he goes through their 1-2-3 in the 9th inning
and doesn't make a bad pitch. He's incredible."

Indeed, Nola eradicated
any doubt, getting Mikey White on a roller to third base, Georgie Salem on a
nasty called third strike and Ben Moore on a routine roller to first base.

That wrapped up Nola's
8th victory and first since April 11 in a marvelous duel with
Alabama's Spencer Turnbull, who gave up only six hits.

"Spencer
pitched one of his best games all year; he was outstanding," Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said.
"His velocity was really good and his command was excellent. Offensively
we ran into one of the toughest pitchers in the country, and he was on (Saturday).
You just tip your hat when a guy pitches like that and you get ready for the
next game."

With the victory, the
Tigers (36-13-1, 14-10-1) won their conference series opener for the eighth
time in nine weekends this season and claimed a win on a doubleheader day for
the first time in three tries.

On the heels of a
similar performance at Texas A&M the previous Friday that came unraveled in
the 9th inning, Nola was razor-sharp the first few times through a
very tricky Alabama batting order. He recorded five of his 9 strikeouts in the
first five frames and added two more after Casey Hughston lined a leadoff
single in the 6th inning for the Tide's first hit.

The Tigers didn't need
much offense and didn't generate much, with single tallies in the 2nd
and 4th innings against Turnbull, who matched Nola for the most
part.

Fraley was the fire
starter in both innings. He rifled a ground ball through the middle with one
out in the 2nd that caromed off the second-base bag far enough for
him to hustle the hit into a double.

"That was huge," Fraley
said after he scored the game's only two runs. "I hit the ball really well up the
middle and I knew it was getting through. Then I saw it bounce off the bag and (first-base
coach) Alex Edward was telling me 'Second, second!' and I already had that on
my mind."

Conner Hale popped out
to the catcher for the second out, but Tyler Moore delivered by flaring a
single into left field for the RBI single.

In the series at
A&M, LSU stranded four runners at third base in a pair of one-run losses,
missing several chances.

"That ball wasn't
scorched, but we'll definitely take the runs when we can get them," Moore said.

Two innings later, Fraley
worked Turnbull for a one-out walk and motored to second base on a hit-and-run
ground ball. Moore also walked to bring up surprise starter Danny Zardon, and
on a 1-and-1 pitch, the freshman rifled a double into the left-field corner to
send Fraley racing home.

Moore tried to score as
well, but was gunned down on a pretty 7-5-2 relay by the Tide.

Mainieri said Zardon's
prowess in batting practice the last several weeks motivated him to give the
Florida native another shot on an SEC weekend. With Alabama starting a
left-hander in the second game, Zardon is likely to remain in the batting
order.

"Him showing confidence in
me helps me a lot," Zardon said. "It makes me feel like I can come out and
compete any time I step into the box."

Turnbull stopped the
bleeding there, wiggling out of a bases-loaded situation in the 5th
inning by striking out Alex Bregman and getting Fraley on a popup. He seemed to
get stronger after that, retiring eight of the last nine LSU batters.

"He may have had more
life as he went on," Moore said. "He got stronger and stronger. He's going to
be something special."